


Every Note

by tatertotarmy



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Azure Moon - Freeform, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), also this was supposed to be a short one-shot but then it got long, because why the heck not, in which mercie knows how to play piano, so now it has chapters oh boy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-24 03:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21331339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatertotarmy/pseuds/tatertotarmy
Summary: "That reminds me...Dedue, what were the songs of Duscur like?"
Relationships: Mercedes von Martritz/Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	Every Note

All in all, Mercedes greatly preferred singing to playing the piano. 

She tapped the edge of the piano, her eyes struggling to focus on sheet music barely illuminated by candlelight. It was difficult to practice piano as opposed to singing. Mercedes could sing everywhere: during chores, teasingly at Annette whenever she had the opportunity, and even to herself as she walked the long hallways of the former officer’s academy. With the piano, she was restricted to availability. The piano was in the cathedral, which meant she couldn’t practice during the modest services inside. Which is why she only played by candlelight or moonlight, or even a combination of both. 

Also, there was quite a lot of structure to it. Right ways and wrong ways. Mercedes could sing however she wanted, but there were rules when it came to piano. Proper ways to play and proper songs to learn. And if it wasn’t done properly, then it was a true shame. Mercedes preferred leeway and an open approach, not strict rules and guidelines. 

And furthermore…

Mercedes set the sheet music back on the piano, frowning. She took in a deep breath, resting her fingertips on several of the keys. Her index finger swept over middle C, gently tapping it a few times. One, two, three…

“Mercedes?”

She jumped, turning her head to see a shadowed figure standing near the center of the cathedral. Mercedes relaxed, turning around on the piano bench to face him, a surprised look still etched on her face.

“Oh, Dedue,” Mercedes felt a smile come to her, “You surprised me! What are you doing up so late?”

Dedue stepped into the candlelight, a neutral expression on a battle-scarred face, “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“I’m just practicing piano…or at least attempting to,” Mercedes chuckled, “Were you patrolling?”

“No, I just couldn’t sleep,” Dedue walked over, still keeping a short distance away from Mercedes, “I heard the piano playing while I was walking on the bridge…”

“Ah, it can really be heard that far out?” Mercedes couldn’t help but feel her cheeks heat up, looking down to her lap, “Goodness, I hardly knew it was that loud.”

“I’m sure it’s more that it was the only thing I _could_ hear out there,” Dedue let out a breath that vaguely sounded like a chuckle, and he straightened up, “I apologize for disturbing you. Would you like me to leave?”

“No,” Mercedes shook her head and scooted to one end of the piano bench, gently patting the empty space, “Sit down. I think I need a break.”

Dedue paused, looking hesitant to accept the offer. But still, he approached, stiffly sitting down beside her. Sitting straight up, keeping his arms locked within his space – making sure that he didn’t touch her - and looking straight ahead to the sheet music. Mercedes couldn’t help but giggle at the sight.

“You can relax, you know,” Mercedes smiled, gently patting his shoulder, “It’s only me.”

“Right…I apologize,” Dedue closed his eyes, looking down. And she watched him relax…only the slightest bit. His shoulders rolling forward, easing a little. Perfect posture going slack only the slightest amount. It didn’t look like the picture of relaxation – though, honestly, Mercedes would have been more surprised than not if he relaxed completely.

“What are you practicing?” 

Mercedes blinked, looking away from him with a start. Goodness, had she been staring? She looked at the sheet music and trying to come back to reality as fast as she could.

“O-Oh,” Mercedes looked to the top of the sheet, trying to remember it herself, “It’s just a song that I…found in a book. It’s called ‘Road Taken.’ I haven’t really gotten far in making it sound nice, yet.” 

“I think this is the first I’ve seen you ever play piano,” he asked, “Have you always played it?”

Mercedes just smiled, gently shaking her head, “No…I haven’t. I’ve played several times before I joined the academy, but I’ve…taken it up again recently.”

She swallowed, remembering a letter she received a couple weeks ago. A plan of her adoptive father to make her more…appealing to suitors. After all, a wife with a crest who could entertain had to be a better sell.

“Why?”

“Oh…you know…” Mercedes looked up at him, making sure to keep the smile on her face, “I got a little nostalgic, that’s all.”

Dedue looked down at her with a neutral expression, and for a moment Mercedes swore she’d been found out. Though…it was difficult, keeping up the façade. She knew her problems paled in comparison to the war. But still, she let them eat away at her like this, no matter how hard she tried. 

She looked into his eyes for a few more moments, and then sighed, “Well…actually, that isn’t true.” Mercedes looked at the sheet music, frowning.

She felt Dedue adjust on the bench, “Is it…alright if I ask the real reason?”

“Are you sure you want to listen?” Mercedes just gave a sad smile, “I, well…there are a lot more important things to worry about than my own troubles.”

“I’m sure.”

She was quiet for a long while, one of her fingers tracing along the keys of the piano, from a low A to a high G, “It was…a request from my adoptive father. He wanted me to learn piano, even though we’re fighting in this war.”

“That seems like a strange request in these times,” Dedue spoke.

“It is, isn’t it? A silly one, for sure…” Mercedes paused, tracing down one of the black keys. “Though…no matter what I say, it’s what he wants. I can only hope he’ll forget about it by the time the war ends.” Though…that was a very slim possibility, and Mercedes knew it. 

“Why don’t you ignore the request, then?”

Her finger paused over the key, and she wondered that question herself. Mercedes knew why she couldn’t reject the request. Since she was a child, she’d been floating on the tides of a vast sea, always guided by waves and waves of decisions. A young girl, forced from home with her mother. Her, several years later, essentially purchased from a church she called home. Everything in her life was always out of her reach, pushing her along towards a destination Mercedes didn’t know and feared all the same. Even as she was now, at age twenty-seven, it was difficult to stand up within the tide. It felt like the second she moved against the current, something huge would rise up and swallow her whole. At least in the path of the tide, she knew that there would be no sharks or storms. Just an untroubled voyage to the edge of the world.

Mercedes just smiled, giving a small chuckle, “Why indeed?”

Dedue frowned, but didn’t say a word in response. And it was something Mercedes always appreciated about Dedue’s company. There was always silence to break up the conversation, or at least to chew on the topic at hand. If this were a conversation with Annette, then they would already be moving onto another topic and speeding off somewhere. But with Dedue, she could find comfort in the silence. Either he was carefully choosing his words…or simply indulging in a small morsel of calm that they scarcely got. 

After a quiet moment, she placed both of her hands on the piano, and she looked up at Dedue, “Do you want to hear what I have so far?”

Dedue blinked, breaking from his thoughts and looking at her, “Yes, if you wouldn’t mind the audience.”

“Of course not, though I don’t promise it will sound all that special.” 

Mercedes looked at the sheet music, trying to remember her practice from before. And then, she began playing the song. She wasn’t a professional or a well-trained pianist by any means, and it showed. Fluctuating tempo, a couple of wrong notes whenever her fingers slipped, and a struggle to make it through the faster rhythms of the melody. But, at the very least…it held the melody quite nicely for a beginner. 

The second she played the last chord, she pulled her hands from the piano, setting them in her lap and looking back to Dedue, “Well, what do you think? I’m sure I have plenty of room for improvement.”

“I think it was quite nice,” Dedue looked genuine when he said that, a faint whisper of a smile on his face. And that compliment – as well as the rare treat of a handsome smile – made Mercedes feel as though this entire piano experience was worth it. 

“Thank you very much.” Mercedes paused for a moment, a thought coming to her. “That reminds me…Dedue, what were the songs of Duscur like?”

“The songs?” Dedue looked to the piano, closing his eyes as though he were trying to remember himself, “There were…a lot of songs. There were always many played at feasts and celebrations…I remember there was one that always stuck out to me. Though, I don’t remember the name – if it had a name.”

“What did it sound like?”

“Erm…” Dedue’s eyes opened, and he looked a little hesitant, “I can’t read music, so I can’t exactly write it down…”

Mercedes giggled, “You can just hum it, Dedue.”

“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it properly.”

“I’m sure you can! You can just hum the main melody if you want. It doesn’t have to be the whole thing.”

“That might prove difficult as well.”

“How about this,” Mercedes put one hand back on the piano, “You can hum it, and I can try to play it.”

“Well, if you insist,” Dedue sat there for a moment, looking nervously at Mercedes. She only looked at him with a small smile, patiently waiting for as long as it took. 

And then, Dedue slowly began humming a short, simple melody. It was just quiet enough for her to hear, and Mercedes couldn’t help but recognize why he was hesitant. His hum sounded…nice. Deep, a little rough around the edges, and at times struggling to hold a single note. But it sounded comforting. Warm. A hum that Mercedes couldn’t help but like.

The melody ended much faster than she anticipated. She sat there for a short moment, waiting for more – wanting there to be more. But as the silence went on, she realized that he was finished, and she prayed that the moon didn’t expose her pink cheeks as she looked down to the piano. She thought to the hum again, trying to search for the right notes to play it…

And Mercedes played it back as best she could, slowly, with a single finger plucking at each key. Once she was finished repeating it, she looked up at Dedue with a smile.

“Well…?”

“Yes, that’s the basics of it,” Dedue smiled wider this time, “It was a lot longer, and I’m sure that it wasn’t played on a piano…but it was always nice to hear…”

Mercedes smiled, placing her hands back in her lap, “It sounds wonderful. I wish I could have heard the full thing.”

Dedue just looked at the piano wistfully, not saying a single word in response. Mercedes sat with him, content in the silence for a while. In her head, she repeated the notes. Some in the piano’s notes, and some in Dedue’s hum. And she couldn’t help but imagine just what kind of song it would be.

“I believe it’s getting late,” Dedue spoke, standing up from the piano bench and looking out to the moonlight, “Are you going to head back?”

“Yes,” Mercedes spoke, putting the fallboard over the keys, “I think that’s the most practice I’ll be getting tonight.”

Dedue walked over to the other side of the bench, holding out a hand. Mercedes smiled, taking his hand and getting up from the bench. She stretched a little – the bench doing no favors for her back – and couldn’t help but repeat that melody over and over in her head as the two of them returned back to the cathedral side by side.

And one part of her wonder what the rest of that song was like.


End file.
